Potter’s Original Licorice

When I was in Amsterdam, instead of seeing Altoids by the check out stand at the grocery, I saw Potter’s Original. The funny thing was, there was already one in my purse. Several months before my trip to Europe, I picked up a little tin to tuck into my bag.

It’s a cute little tin, light and narrow, it’s like a longer box of wooden matches. It has a pleasant rattling sound from the little candies inside. It was pretty cheap for licorice, too. They sell for less than 1 Euro, so about a buck and even in the United States I only paid $1.50. Of course there’s not much in there weight wise, it’s only .44 ounces.

In Holland folks call them simply Pottertjes. The flavor is a combination of licorice and menthol.

The tin has a clever dispensing set up under the lid. The second lid has a tiny hole that allows only one or two pieces to come out at a time. Each piece is about the size of a French lentil, though a bit square and pillowy.

I was fully expecting these to be strong and possibly salted. I was spared the latter, though they are quite potent not only in the licorice department but also have some sort of yin yang thing going on with some warming and some cooling.

The ingredients list a base of licorice and sugar then an addition of both menthol and capsathine. Capsathine is one of the constituents of hot peppers.

The flavors start bold and smoky, there’s a lot of molasses and woodsy licorice notes. Then the menthol gets things pepped up with a bit of nasal clearing ... then towards the end there’s a little burn, like a cayenne but without those green notes.

The texture is odd. Sometimes I thought I was chewing on a piece of paper, other times it was like slightly grainy gummi bear. They’re very small, but one does quite a bit. I’ve had the tin for nearly a year and do partake every once in a while. The overall flavors are on the medicinal side but much more interesting than the standard honey lemon variety.

Potter’s also makes a mild version, which I’ve bought but can’t bring myself to open until I finish (or get close to finishing) this one. They also make glycerine drops, similar to Pine Bros and Grether’s Pastilles. Hopefully when I have a layover in Amsterdam I can try to find some.

Just wanted to let you know: to the Dutch, Pottertjes aren’t candy at all! They’re a medicinal thing, like a lozenge or something. So, basing their qualities on your candy scale (or from a “candy” perspective”) is a bit miss-guided, since that’s kind of like revieweing Ricola. Actually, maybe even Ricola is too “candy-ified” to compare this to. Really, they are viewed as simply a medicinal aid (not viewed as a treat), a necessity when you’ve got a problem with your throat.

Yes! The person above me is right. I grew up in Klimmen, The Netherlands and my mom gave me Potters when I had a cold. They were not just something people picked up and ate like candy. Good blog though! Very interesting

Even though they are considered medicinal by a lot of people in the Netherlands, some people do enjoy them as a regular breath freshener. I like them because they do not give your teeth that “furry feeling” like you get with many mints, and a little goes a very long way.

Jägermeister also started out as a medicinal drink for sore throats, but is widely enjoyed by people who have nothing wrong with their throats at all

How has the Potter’s formula changed? My newest shipment of Potter’s have this summer and fall started to stick together even though I keep them in sealed containers or even with small packages of Calcium chloride (that are often included with other kinds of lozenges). I have not stored or carried them any differently that I have for the last two decades and this was not a particularly hotter or more humid summer than any other we have experienced. Sadly, the six yet to be opened containers are also inflicted in this way—shaking them produces no sound!

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